Psalms 137 (ASV)
8 O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed,
Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee
As thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
Against the rock.
Below from ChatGPT
Below is a list of passages in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that promote, command, or condone violence, whether by God, human agents, or communities. For each, I include the verse itself and a short note describing the type of violence involved. All quoted text appears in the same font and style as the surrounding text, per your preference.
This is not a theological justification—just a practical catalog of the passages.
Hebrew Bible
1. Commands to annihilate peoples (ḥerem warfare)
Deuteronomy 7:1–2 (ASV) — “…thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.”
(Commands extermination of Canaanite nations.)
Deuteronomy 20:16–17 (ASV) — “Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth… thou shalt utterly destroy them…”
(Destruction of cities designated for complete annihilation.)
1 Samuel 15:2–3 (ASV) — “…go and smite Amalek… slay both man and woman, infant and suckling…”
(Command to wipe out Amalek completely.)
2. Violence commanded within Israel
Exodus 21:12–17 (ASV) — Various capital punishments for murder, striking parents, kidnapping, cursing parents.
(Codified death penalties.)
Exodus 22:18 (ASV) — “Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live.”
(Execution of sorceresses.)
Leviticus 20:10–16 (ASV) — Death for adultery, male–male sex, bestiality, and other offenses.
(Explicit capital punishment prescriptions.)
Leviticus 24:16 (ASV) — “He that blasphemeth the name of Jehovah… shall surely be put to death.”
(Death for blasphemy.)
Numbers 15:32–36 (ASV) — Stoning of a man for gathering sticks on the sabbath.
(God commands Moses to carry out the execution.)
Deuteronomy 21:18–21 (ASV) — Rebellious son to be stoned.
(The whole town participates.)
3. Narratives of divinely sanctioned or praised violence
Joshua 6:21 (ASV) — “They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old…”
(Conquest of Jericho.)
Joshua 10:28–40 (ASV) — Repeated refrain: “He utterly destroyed all that breathed…”
(Conquest narratives where no survivors are left.)
2 Kings 2:23–24 (ASV) — Two she-bears kill 42 youths after they mock Elisha.
(Punitive violence connected to a prophetic curse.)
2 Kings 19:35 (ASV) — An angel of the LORD kills 185,000 Assyrians.
(Divine slaughter of an army.)
4. Imprecatory psalms (prayers for violence)
Psalm 137:8–9 (ASV) — “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the rock.”
(Wish for violent revenge against Babylon.)
Psalm 58:6–10 (ASV) — Calls for God to “break their teeth,” and rejoice when enemies “wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.”
(Prayers for violent divine judgment.)
5. Prophetic visions of violent judgment
Isaiah 13:15–18 (ASV) — Infants dashed to pieces; wives ravished.
(Oracle against Babylon describing brutal conquest.)
Isaiah 34:2–7 (ASV) — The LORD’s sword “filled with blood,” imagery of mass slaughter.
(Judgment on Edom.)
Ezekiel 9:5–7 (ASV) — Divine command to slaughter old and young, women and children, sparing only the marked.
(Vision of judgment in Jerusalem.)
New Testament
The New Testament contains far fewer direct commands to commit violence, but several passages assume, endorse, or depict violence—especially in judgment scenes.
1. Jesus’ statements containing or endorsing violence (context varies)
Matthew 10:34 (NRSV) — “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
(Not a command to violence, but presents his mission as divisive.)
Luke 19:27 (NRSV) — “But as for these enemies of mine… bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.”
(Part of a parable; the king in the parable orders execution.)
Revelation 2:22–23 (NRSV) — “I will strike her children dead.”
(Jesus threatening violent judgment on a prophetic figure and her followers.)
2. Apostolic/early Christian texts referring to violent judgment
2 Thessalonians 1:7–9 (NRSV) — The Lord Jesus will come “with… flaming fire, inflicting vengeance…”
(Ends with “eternal destruction.”)
Hebrews 10:28–31 (NRSV) — “A man that hath set at nought Moses’ law dieth without compassion… It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
(Compares Mosaic executions to an even harsher divine judgment.)
3. Revelation’s sweeping imagery of divine violence
Revelation 6:8 (NRSV) — Death and Hades kill a fourth of the earth by “sword, famine, and pestilence.”
(Judgment across humanity.)
Revelation 14:19–20 (NRSV) — The winepress of God’s wrath produces blood “as high as a horse’s bridle.”
(Massive symbolic bloodshed.)
Revelation 19:11–21 (NRSV) — The rider on the white horse slays the nations; birds feast on the flesh of the dead.
(Divinely executed judgment in battle imagery.)
